Brianna Ogunbawo
Brianna Ogunbawo

Alumni Spotlight: Brianna Ogunbawo

Intro

From 'The Book of Mormon' to 'Motown', from 'Dreamgirls' to 'The Lion King', Brianna Ogunbawo has enjoyed a successful career in the West End and beyond. We explore her journey from a London College of Music (LCM) student to her current role as Laurie in current West End hit 'Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!'

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Ever since her childhood in Birmingham, Brianna has been fascinated by performance and musical theatre.  

When I was younger, I got a lot of theatre opportunities through things like stagecoach. I got to be one of the kids in 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat' when it came on tour. That’s how I knew I wanted to do this as a career.”

She studied musical theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, and from here Brianna began studying at the privately funded Bristol Academy of Performing Arts. It was during her second year that the school closed down and Brianna found herself taking a gap year. It was this year that led her to LCM.

I had a really great three years. Third year was the best, because that’s when I got to do the shows. Before that you’re kind of doing training and preparation, then you get to show what you can do before casting directors.”

Her favourite classes included stage combat, learning how to fight safely and convincingly. Brianna threw herself into her third year performances. Beginning with 'The Biograph Girl', she performed in several other shows, including 'Bella Me', which was written by LCM lecturer Alex Loveless.

Her final show, 'Merrily We Roll Along', was something of a personal passion project because Brianna loves the work of Stephen Sondheim. By this point, she had already secured herself an agent, though she remembers turning up for her audition to find that their office was on a boat.

I honestly don’t know how all of this happened. I’m incredibly blessed, and I wouldn’t want to take any of it for granted. It’s a good CV, and there’s lots on there, but if I told you the number of shows I auditioned for, then it’s a lot longer a list. There were a lot of no’s, and it’s not easy. Even when you are lucky enough to get those jobs, it’s not an easy thing to do.”

Lion King

Brianna Ogunbawo dressed as a lion for a performance of The Lion King

Brianna put in a lot of work to get where she is now. Even in third year, she was out there auditioning, making it to the final audition for the international tour of 'The Lion King'. Though she graduated in 2014, it would take a full twelve months before she landed her first professional role, in the UK tour for 'Crush: the Musical'.  

Working front of house helped me keep up my motivation. You’re surrounded by theatre people, you’re getting to watch people on stage. At least for me, it was a big motivator, thinking that one day I could get there. Also, because auditions were still coming in, and I was getting far ahead in most auditions, I remember thinking that there must be something there.” 

Following this, Brianna auditioned for long-running hit 'The Book of Mormon', her second attempt. When she was offered the role of first cover for Nabulungi, one of the shows main characters, Brianna was on a train and had to hide her reaction.

You have to approach it hoping that it will be the right time, and this time it was! The blessing was, this happened in September, and they told me about it in October. Technically I wasn’t meant to start until January, but I wound up starting in November and went straight through for a year and two months.”

Brianna Ogunbawo wearing her costume for Oklahoma!

After a few more touring roles, Brianna landed a part as the understudy to Laurie in the latest revival of 'Rogers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma'. This is a demanding play where performers find themselves never leaving the stage for up to an hour at a time.

That in itself is mentally demanding. You always have to be in it, and you always have to concentrate and be in the room. I was nervous the first time I went on but now, having done it a few times, it kind of becomes ingrained in your body. It’s a part of you and you don’t have to think about it. But I find that a good thing because that’s when my most truthful performances come out.”  

When you are an understudy, you only ever rehearse with other understudies. The first time Brianna worked with the main cast was when she walked out on stage in front of a live audience, which is why she just has to throw herself into it, to listen and to react every time.

You need to listen a lot, to respond without thinking too much about it. You have to really pay attention. Someone might ask you a question in a particular way, and your reaction needs to match their approach. So much of it is just feeding off the other person. Then someone might say a line differently or miss out a word and I miss my cue!”

Alongside her work

Alongside her work on the stage, Brianna teaches dance, running workshops in schools and colleges. During COVID, she even returned to teach at LCM, teaching second year students about the industry.

In the future, she is planning to take a break from touring and focus on intimate shows at smaller theatres like the Old Vic or Manchester Royal Exchange.

It takes a lot out of you. Just before doing 'Oklahoma!', I had come off a nearly 15-month tour. It’s a lot, there’s a lot of travelling, and we ran into train strikes so some of the journeys were made so much longer. And train fares were expensive! It’s things like that, and this sounds silly but the seasons are changing throughout the year. You’re carrying winter clothes, but it’s getting warmer so you need to plan to go back and swap out your wardrobe.”

We asked her advice for anyone hoping to make it in the theatre industry:

The industry is not easy. When you walk into it, you need to have a real sense of who you are and what you want. You need to be willing to push forward with that. It may take a very long while before you get that job you really want, but you need to keep holding onto that dream. It’s important too to remember that even when you get a 'no', it’s never normally about you. The people hiring you are trying to figure out a whole jigsaw puzzle, so it’s normally not about your talent.”

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